we had folks from the plant calling their employer, worried, asking, is it true, are our jobs being shipped to china? and the reason they're making these calls is because governor romney has been running an ad that says so. except it's not true. everybody knows, it's not true. the car companies themselves are told governor romney to knock it off. gm said, we have been creating jobs in the united states should be a sort of bipartisan pride and i couldn't agree more. and i understand that governor romney has had a tough time here in ohio because he was against saving the auto industry and it's hard to run away from that position when you're on videotape saying the words, let detroit go bankrupt. and i know we're close to an election, but this isn't a game. these are people's jobs.

these are people's lives. these car companies are putting a lot of effort to make great products, but also to make sure that everybody in america knows how committed they are to making cars here in america. so you don't scare hard work and americans just to scare up some votes. that's not what being president is all about. that's not leadership. when i first made the decision to rescue the auto industry, i knew it wasn't popular. and despite the fact that one out of eight jobs in ohio are connected to the auto industry in some way, it wasn't even popular here in ohio. but i knew it was the right thing to do. i knew betting on american

workers was the right thing to do. i knew betting on america was the right thing to do. that paid off. it paid off where gm is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in their auto plant. it paid off in toledo where chrysler is adding more than 1,000 new jobs on a second shift. not in china, but right here in ohio. right here in the united states of america. and so one of the things, when you're talking to your friends and neighbors, they're trying to make up their minds the last few days. think about that. think about the issue of trust. think about do you want a president who is going to tell you what he believes and what he thinks for somebody who is going to, you know, who is going to -- well, change the facts. after four years as president, you know me.

you may not agree with every decision i've made. you may be frustrated sometimes at the pace of change. but you know what i believe. you know where i stand. you know i tell the truth. you know that i'll fight for you and your families every single day as hard as i know how. you know that. >> good morning, everybody. i'm tom here at msnbc headquarters and we're watching president obama there in hilliard, ohio, greeting fans at a campaign there giving a stump speech and bringing up specifically parts of the jobs numbers. that is the big news we saw today. unemployment kicked up ever so slightly to 7.9%. but there was a big boost in hiring with the official number at 171,000 jobs added over the course of the month. that's much higher than expected. the analysts had predicted something lower, around 120ish.

we want to bring in our morning power panel. jared bernstein, ron ensanna, cnbc contributor and author of "ohio to make a fortune from the bill biggest bailout in history" and dana se abank. >> jared, i want to start with you. we've got the numbers took front. we've got more jobs added last month than expected. but the unemployment rate picked up from september. why? >> more people entered the labor force, about 580,000 people. now, these monthly numbers jump around. and about 400,000 or so, according the to that part of the survey.

the labor force stayed the same, but people in the labor force can lose their jobs, get laid off. that's not what happened. in this sense, it's actually a somewhat positive indicator because it suggests that the improving job market and the more reliable payroll numbers does show some improvement, some acceleration in job growth is perhaps pulling some folks off the sidelines. so this is a result in the increase in the labor force. >> so an increase in the labor force. ron, let's talk about the market confidence. i want to show everybody the boards, if we can cut to those to show everybody how the market is reacting so far. it's been rocky this morning. red arrows we see right now. so infrastructure yagz off of this news. where is the market confidence? we are in a recovery. >> don't forget, we're up 110% from the march 9th lows and we're up about 17% for the nasdaq for the year. we're up about 12% for the s&p for the year. we're pulling back a little bit today. i don't think it's that overt a

reaction for the employment data. there's a lot of things going on right now that are affecting the market. the unemployment rate going up might have been considered a minor negative. but as jared just explained, it's really not when you dig down into the numbers. it's part of the statistical quirks that go along with computing the unemployment rate itself. >> and let's talk more about governor romney today and his specifics about the unemployment numbers saying the increase in the unemployment rate is a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual stand still. but when we look at the jobs that have been added over the last six months, we see the steady rise, going in the right direction. unemployment dropping to under 8%, staying there. does that take out the economic message of mitt romney at the kneecaps? >> not really. one, we're not seeing the type of job growth that we need to be coming back. that number has to be way over 200,000 per month. but what it's -- and the other thing is, when you dig down into

those nebs, you look at the income numbers. people are not feeling it. their incomes are not rising. so when you look at this from a political point of view, it's what people feel. what's their emotional pocketbook reaction? and the fact is right now people are still hurting. so, again, both candidates are going to spin everything. i think it's already baked in. i don't think it's going to affect it much. if it went over 8%, it could have. but at the end of the day, i think that their messages, what they're going to take forward and it really won't have a substantial effect. >> the president is still speaking at his campaign event in ohio. mitt romney is going to be at a campaign coming up in west alice, wisconsin, the candidates crisscrossing back and forth today, surrogates, too, between wisconsin and ohio. as you listen to both sides, they're both going to take them. dana, the president said earlier, if he couldn't get unemployment below 8%, this would be a one-term presidency, a one-term proposition.

unemployment, though, we'll remind everybody back in '09 was in double digits. it's now under 8%. obviously, the president is getting some high marks for thinks his reaction and response to sandy, chris governor chris christie, michael bloomberg coming out and endorsing the president. is this a solid position? >> any other year, this wouldn't have been considered any position that he would want to be in as an incumbent president. but, well, you have to factor in the weakness of the opposition and also the history nature of this recovery which makes it different in speed from ones before it. i think what today is not a big news story and that's good news for the president. this was sort of the last chance that some external event could really trip him up. obviously, nobody knows what could occur over the last four days. but republicans were hoping this

would be some last-minute thing that voters would be taking into the voting booth with them. when it appears the numbers would be delayed because of the storm, they went and said it was a conspiracy. the numbers are out and they're not that bad relative to what they could about. this is overall good news for the president as you pointed out, major foul-ups could come from any of these places. but, jared, as susan pointed out, is this already baked in? are people going to take this somewhere to the voters? >> i agree with them so far. but there are a couple of things that i want to take a disagreement with. dana said something like it's not so bad. this is something about a pretty good jobs report. if you look at the pace of jobs growth, and to smooth out the statistical noise, the underlying pace of job growth on the payroll side is about

170,000 jobs per month over the past four months. go back to the second quarter of the year where we were seeing a bit of a slump. the pace was about 67,000 per month. 67,000, 170,000. and disagreeing with susan a bit, that kind of momentum is actually showing up quite explicitly in consumer confidence. if you look at the measures of consumer confidence, they'll elevated consistently as the job markets accelerate. >> so let's talk about the fact that mitt romney, he's we said, he's going to have a campaign event in wisconsin and he's going to be hitting pennsylvania and new hampshire in the last few days. looking to expand the mess. do you think he knows he's not going to take ohio and that's why he's trying to do this? >> no. i think he absolutely thinks ohio is in play and that's why he's going there. >> but beyond that. does he think it might be in play, but he has to expand his map? >> he absolutely does. and if there's the slightest

chance that pennsylvania could be in play, which i frankly don't see, but if they have a witch of a hope there, they're not going to not go there. and new hampshire is going to be very important. they need to rack up these electoral votes and they're going to do it any way way they can. ohio, wisconsin and i think colorado will be another important state. >> ron, your prediction. what happens wednesday? >> wednesday, what happens wednesday? these are the markets. based on whatever happens come tuesday. >> i don't think it's a major disappointment if president obama wins. i do think we would get a rally of some consequence if it's president romney based on number one, they will assume that some portion of obama care will he will be repealed and some portion of dodd frank will be repealed at some point in time. some people believe if president obama wins, house stays republican and the senate leans more republican. we're more likely to get a grand

bargain on deficit reduction because the president will be more likely to make a deal for 2014 and 2016. they can't spend the next four years not doing anything about the deficit. we could see a deal to reduce the budget deficit and that would be a net positive for all the financial markets if that happens. but if the republicans were to run the table, you would see a pretty big rally on wall street. >> if president obama stays in office, do you think we'll take another peek at the american jobs act? >> i certainly think that's something the president is going to bring to the table. and perhaps that could be part of a bargain around the debt ceiling. one thing we've heard a lot of talk about, not so much from the white house although they've suggested they're open to it, is some sort of extension not to the payroll tax cut, but something like that. and, actually, just from the economics -- >> which is the only thing that republicans liked over the sum from the american jobs act.

>> that's a good point. that's a correct point, thomas. and, look, as an economist, and i've heard economists of all strikes agree with what i'm about to say. that's actually 120 billion of stimulus. to take that out of the 2013 economy in my view would not be positive for growth. >> my big thanks to our mega power panel for the day. jared bernstein, susan, dana, a big thanks to all of you. >> thank you. starting this weekend, take a peek at this. it's in the process, we turn rockefeller plaza into democracy plaza. it's interactive. we have lots of historic information down there. come down with your kids. i'll be broadcasting live from there on monday. did you know that? no. you see, you learn something every day on this show. msnbc colleagues will be out there every day broadcasting live, so we ask you to come down.

>> this is a movie set. we've been speaking to -- >> a must-see interview, michael grim talk toes richard lui about the devastation in his own district where sandy survivors are pleading for help. that's coming next. and we want to ask you what you think. october jobs report, super storm sandy. will either of these events impact your vote on election day? sweet me or find me on facebook, thomasaroberts, msnbc. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up

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right now, 3.5 million homes are without power across several different states. lower manhattan, parts of it,

could come back online today. other areas, they face a wait of up to ten days. those power problems causing incredible frustration at gas stations. look at the lines for several days in a row. this video shows how bad it is. the snaking lines out of the parking lot on to a different day. the police in manhattan had to prevent fight from breaking out yesterday. the economic impact from sandy say new estimates, this storm costs upwards of $50 billion, making it the second costliest storm after katrina. but atlantic city studios are allowed re-entry today. 95 sandy related deaths are reported in the u.s., including two brothers, ages 2 the and 4, and new york city staten island tt he centepicenter of the casu today. many are remaining powerless and they're not homeless, as well. and residents say the response is coming a bit too late.

>> every single person on this block lost everything. >> we just want everyone to know that we are hurting down here and we need help immediately. >> msnbc's richard lui is now in staten island with more for us. richard, good morning. >> thomas, very good morning to you. we're right here by the bay. several marinas in staten island and this corner has been hurt so much. if you lived in this area, you would have 30, 40-foot tall yachts sitting in your front yard. i was speaking with representative michael grim a little earlier. this is his district. and i asked him about the shelters. where are people going and what do they need? this is what he told me. >> they need some certain certainty. they need to know where they're going to go tomorrow. they know that the shelt ser short lived and they can't wait to get out of there. they're on cots. you have a lot of elderly people in their 80s and so on that are in the auditorium of a high school. it's not easy living conditions. >> now, some of them will be moving today.

will they be able to get the services they need? you're talking about the transitional housing that you hope to get into hotels and things like that. what is the next step? what dow need to get from that? >> we've requested from governor cuomo to make the formal request to the president. we believe that's happening. the senator was here yesterday and he promised to help speed that up. once the president approves it, it allows the people to authorize people to move into hotels or whatever is necessary. >> how is fema doing? >> that's one of the complaints, it's been the slow responsover all. tread cross just got here yesterday. i was working on getting them here for three days. fema just got here yesterday, but they really won't be on the ground until today. >> they've been at the shelters, though, as well. >> they just started yesterday. a few representatives with some

basic information. but they will be on the ground today. >> okay. so we're having a meeting with them later today to lay out going door to door. >> and the mayor, how is he doing? we have the marathon coming up. you were fairly critical of that yesterday in your comments. what's your thoughts? >> listen, overall, i understand and i really do respect. the mayor has a tremendously difficult job and overall -- and he's done a pretty good job handling this. i do, though, i really disagree with the call for the marathon. i think it's wrong. and a big part of it is a couple reasons. first and foremost, just yesterday we're pulling bodies out of the marsh. and then an elderly couple. there's going to be more people we're going to find. so i think until we fully recovery all the bodies, we understand exactly what the extent of the loss is and we make sure that we are giving people the basics of what they need. there are elderly people with no heat and no food. my office is delivering food to the elderly.

until we get that under control, then we can't fully move forward. >> representative grim had visited several of the shelters that are here on staten island. there are five. one is closing down today. they'll be down to four or perhaps even less. thomas, this is wa we're seeing down here. recovery does begin here at the marina. that crane just came in this morning. they've pulled out at least three or four of the yachts so far. so perhaps with the good weather as well as the efforts right now, things will start to turn. >> richard, as you talk about the good weather, one thing that has been a problem for so many is the cold temperatures. so row are people doing with that? obviously, it's sunny today, but at nighttime, the temperatures have been dropping. >> in the 30s. that's what you're talking about, thomas. and that's why we see these long lines for gasoline. those big, red canisters, it's not only for their automobiles. it's for their generators to keep their homes warm and keep

those refrigerators moving. >> richard lui reporting from staten island. thanks so much. and the governor of new york andrew cuomo recently gave a press conference saying he had a conversation with the president laugh night. there will be deployed 30 joint teams, an expert in each area, private insurance, fema and state funds. the other big statement to noters, the state of new york will pledge 100 million in funds for victims of that had homes damaged by this storm. so a lot to talk about regarding that. we'll continue to go over the government's statement. crews are rushing to reopen ports and repair fuel supply lines as demand for gas sky rockets. tom is covering that for us. he's in a gas station or right outside of a gas station in richfield, new jersey.

we can see the lines behind you, tom. >> right on the jersey turnpike behind me. this has been packed for the better part of a couple of days now. there are two or three sunoco tankers. they each carry about 8800 gallons of fuel. they're bringing gas in, but here is the real story. take a look at the heavy police presence to make sure that they keep the order and that everybody keeps cool. and also, look at the line. the line stretches up and around the service ramp and on to the jersey turnpike because they have got at least about a mile, two to three miles of people waiting to get into this gas station. it's been the same scene across new jersey. we've heard from a lot of people who have some very strong emotions on this issue. >> i hope you ain't got to push it to the gas station. >> so i was in this line for about an hour. people, they're cutting in line at the corner.

>> i've visited seven gats gas stations. i was right within 20 cars. it's not looking too good for gas today the. >> people are getting pretty upset about all this. what's the reasoning for this? first of all, the gas station that's do have gas in many cases are still out of power. then, sometimes if they have power, they're running low on gas. we have refineries here in the area that some of them are still off-line or limping to get back up and running. the ports, as you know, were damaged and, therefore, it's been a struggle to get tankers to offload their fuel. and oh, by the way, if you have fuel in those big, huge white tanks that you see sitting along the jersey turnpike, the trouble is, you need electricity to get the fuel out of them and into the trucks. so it's just a cascade of problems here as the demand for fuel is very, very high. thomas. >> tom costello reporting from richfield, new jersey.

as promise, went to ta take you to the mitt romney event that's taking place in wisconsin. his running mate, paul ryan, is from wisconsin and the rnc chairman himself speaking at that event earlier. >> wow. what a welcome. >> you guys are amazing. thank you so much. wa a welcome. thank you. that is a very generous welcome. thank you.

. >> thank you so much. you got that one right, by the way. four more days. this is a -- a great experience to be here with you today. this is so exciting. what a great state, what a great welcome. and by the way, this state is going to help me become the next president of the united states. i -- i want to thank governor walker for that extraordinary introduction and what a great governor you have. you're very lucky. i know that took some work. senator johnson, thank you for your help and also lieutenant governor clayfish, thank you for her help and the former governor and future united states senator, tommy thompson. thank you for that.

chairman frevis, a hometown guy and hall of famer, bart starr, thank you very much. thank you. old friends here, too. ann, it was kind of her to speak here. my son was kind enough to join us. my boys have been campaigning all over the country. their support means a lot to me and yours. and the work you have done. tkt case you have made in wisconsin over the last month have blown everybody away. and i want to thank you for the work that you're doing. our thoughts today turn to the people in the country that are still recovering from the hurricane that hit the atlantic coast. a lot of people having very tough times and i hope you'll

keep them in your thoughts and prayers and if you have an extra dollar or more, send send it to the american ro red cross. we are a nation of generous heart. and those hearts are called upon in a time of crisis like this. i want to thank -- i want to thank you for all that you've done and all that you're going to do in the next four days. and i want to tell you how much i appreciate being in the home of the next vice president of the united states. you know, next to ann romney, paul ryan is the best choice i've ever made, i have to tell you. now, we're just entering the final weekend of the campaign.

and as you know it, the obama rallies, they're shouting four more years, four more years. and i just heard you, we're shoit shouting four more days. we're so very grateful to you and to people frankly across the country, for all that you've done, all that they've done to give yourself to their campaign. and as you know, this is not just about paul and me. this is about america. it's about the future we're going to leave to our children. we thank you and we ask you to stay at it all the way to the finish line. because we're going to win on tuesday night. >> you happen, the closing hours of a campaign have all the

dynamic of their own. a lot of voters have known for some time who they're going to vote for. but there are others just now putting aside the demands of their daily lives and considering how their vote will affect their lives and the lives of their children. and we asked them and you to look beyond the speeches and the attacks and the ads. look to the records, to the accomplishments and the failures. and the judgments. words are cheap. a record is real and it's earned with real efforts. real change is not measured in words. real change is measured in achievements. and four years ago, candidate obama promised to do so very much. but he's fallen so very short.

he promised to be a post partisan president. but he became the most partisan, blaming, attacking, dividing. he said he was going to focus on creating jobs. and instead, he focused on obama care, which killed jobs. he said he was going to cut the federal deficit in half and then he doubled it. he said he was going to lower the unemployment rate down to 5.2% right now. today, we learn that it's actually 7.9% and that's 9 million jobs short of what he promised. unemployment is higher today than when barack obama took office. think of that. unemployment today is higher than on the day barack obama took office. he promised that he would propose a plan to save social security and medicare from insolvency. he didn't. rather, he raided $716 billion from medicare to pay for his obama care.

he said he was going to lower health insurance premiums for the average family by $2,500 a year by now. and actually, they are now $3,000 higher for an average family. and gasoline, the american family now pays $2,000 a year more for gasoline than when he was elected. of course, he also said he was going to work across the aisle on the most important issues. listen to this, he has not met on the economy or on the budget or on jobs with either of the republican leader of the house or the senate since july. instead of bridging the divide, he's made it wider. now, how is it that he's fallen so short of what he promised? in part, it's because he has never led before. he had never worked across the aisle before. he never truly understood how jobs are created and the economy. and, of course, today he is now making new promises.

promises he will be unable to keep because he dmidz admits that he will stay on the same path he's been on. and the same course we have been on will not lead to a better destination. >> the same path we're on means $20 billion in four years. it means crippling unemployment continues. it means stagnant take home pay, dedepressed home values and a devastated military. and unless we change course, we may well be looking at another recession. the question of this election comes down to this. do you want more of the same or do you want real change? and we choose real change.

candidate obama promised change, but he couldn't deliver it. i promised change, but i have a record of achieving it. i built the business. i turned around another. i helped put an olympics back on track. and with a democrat legislature, i helped turn my state from deficit to surplus, from job losses to job gains. from higher taxes to higher take-home pay. this is why i'm running for president. i know how to change the course that the country is on. how to get us to a balanced

budget, how to build jobs that helped realize take home pay. accomplishing real change is something i don't just talk about, it's something i've done. and it's what i'm going to do when i'm president of the united states with your help. >> and so the people across america, if you believe we can do better, if you believe america should be on a better course, if you're tired of being tired, then i ask you to vote for real change. paul ryan and i will bring real change to america on day one. now, i know database i know ta when i'm elected, the economy and the american job market will still be stagnant. but i won't waste any time

complaining about my predecessor. i won't spend my effort trying to pass partisan legislation that's unrelated to economic growth prp from day one, i'll go to work to help americans get back to work. people across the country are respond to go our five-part plan to create jobs. part one, as you know, is about taking full advantage of our energy resources. on day one, i'll act to increase the number of leases and permits to drill on federal land. i will ask to speed the approval of the keystone pipeline from canada.

i'll revisit coal regulations that were designed by the administration to strangle the industry and, instead, make sure we can use the resources we have in a clean and responsible way. you see, on day one, we will be closer to north american energy independence. now, i'm going to move to boost trade, especially with latin america. i'll ask congress for trade promotion authority and that's a power every president has used or requested since it was created back in 1974. oh, except president obama. and i'll finally designate china has the currency manipulator in getting trade to work for america.

now, third, i'm going to send to congress the retraining format to make sure every worker who feels left behind in this economy can get the chance for a good paying job. and fourth, i'll move to tackle out of control spending. i will -- i'll send congress the first of several fundamental reforms. this person will be called the down payment on fiscal sandy act to immediately cut not just slow the rate of growth, but cut nonsecurity discretionary spending by 5%. and by the way, i'm not going to just take office on january 20th. i'm going to take responsibility for that office, as well. >> we are watching mitt romney as he talk toes people that have shown up for a campaign event there in west alice, wisconsin, wisconsin being the home state of his running mate, paul ryan. and said earlier that the best

choice he has made next to ann romney, is picking paul ryan as his running mate. that crowd was chanting four more days and the obama crowd in ohio was chanting four more years. we talk more about ohio because this has been a huge focus of these campaigns in the final days. mitt romney, after finishing up at wisconsin, he's going to have two stops in ohio. joining me now is larry sabatoe. editor of the crystal ball blog. lar larry, good to have you here. ohio has been moved to tossup category yesterday. you have it as leaning democratic. are polls tightening there? and does the president have enough of an edge to see him through because he needs ohio so badly? >> we see no evidence at all. if you look at the polling averages or even if you examine individual polls, we put ohio as

lean democratic, lean obama at the end of the september. we have seen absolutely no reason to change it. we see absolutely no reason to change it now. sometimes groups at rates overreact to a single private tracking number that may be shared by a campaign. as far as i'm concerned, while private trackings are good, many of the public polls are equally good. and under treat a private tracking number from a campaign or a polling source exactly the same as you would a public poll with a responsible sponsor. so i don't react as strongly as some people do to a private tracking number. >> one place where the obama campaign is not letting up yet is -- they sent bill clinton there today. this is him earlier this morning. >> i hear all these people say,

oh, i was so enthusiastic four years ago. i had so much hope for change. and i'm disappointed. let me tell you something, i may be the only person in america, but i am far more enthusiastic about president obama this time than i was four years ago. >> larry, so on your map, you have florida as leaning republican, but the in your blog, you point out that romney will be stumping there in the last four days. is that evidence that the romney campaign doesn't feel that it's in the bag for them and that there could be movement there for the president? >> it's not in the bag, that's for sure. the reason we have it in the republican camp is because it leans slightly republican. one of the reporters down there, adam smith of the tampa bay times says romney probably has a lead in that corridor that often determines florida elections. but at the same time, he says the obama camp has been doing an extraordinary job in mining the

maximum out of the heavily democratic south florida area. that could even it out. the reason romney is there is because his lead is very tenuous. i think he does have a lead. but we're talking about a point. we're not talking about three or four points. so that's why you have to keep the pressure up. that's why he's in florida. that's why he's in virginia. frankly, it's why the president is going to was which is and to ohio. it's to keep the pressure on, to keep their narrow leads intact. >> let's talk about wisconsin. because president obama does have a narrow lead there. ten electoral votes for grabs. mitt romney, though, has striking distance. he also has paul ryan on the ticket. >> yes. wisconsin has tightened, in my view. it was once broader for obama than it is now. but, of course, under our electoral system, you get one more popular vote than a candidate in a state, you get all the electoral votes. right now in wisconsin, he would

rather by obama than be romney. that's not to say it's safe for obama. it isn't. it's tight. >> larry, great to see you this morning. thank you. >> thank you. >> so when talking dollars and cents, the cost of hurricane sandy, that is still being tallied up. early strimts estimates bring it up to $50 million. the second is hurricane katrina where damages total $81 billion. when it comes loss of life, the numbers don't compare. 91 people are dead from sandy. from katrina, more than 1,800 across five different states. but what differences do we see when it comes to the government response? msnbc's melissa harriet is here to sound off on that, melissa ferry and i won't even bring up the name isaac. leave that alone. >> that's right. >> if there are models to

compare and contrast how we've seen responses from candy to katrina, there are vast differences. >> yeah. i think what we want to do is, for example, recognize the comparisons you just made in dollars from the size to katrina to the size of sandy, that's one thing. but 98 lives, 1,800 lives, every single life is deep and preci s precious. and now more and more of us who are affected by these sorts of disasters know that the human toll, the cost of it is enormous. so when we talk about disaster response, it's not just sort of dollars and cents. it's whether or not the choice is made by a mobilizing government, by mobilizing private interests can save one life, one life, one life. each of those things matters so much. and what we found in this case was the presidential administration working through a very different fema that in 200 5. michael brown, the head of fema in 2005, his name is brownie, right? his background is being in the

arabian horses networking on something. but president obama's fema director has a very long track record in disaster management and disaster preparedness and has been very much tested during the past four years, has responded very well over and over again. but the other thing that we haven't talked much about is how many private/public partnerships the president has put in place and the willingness to work across partisan lines, which we saw with chris christie and the president. i think in many ways it's been a model of how the federal government is dealing with the disaster. >> now we're getting these stories out of staten island, also in lower manhattan have been affected by this. but there is a perception, certainly from those people that don't feel like they're getting the help that they need quickly enough. >> oh, of course. and look, your point about it being working class, it was stunning to hear governor romney there talking about drilling and the pipeline and coal and fuel.

particularly in the wake of a disaster. because one of the things we see each and every time is that vulnerability is not equal. communities of colors also often live in economically more tenuous or dangerous circumstances. so it's not just sort of whether or not -- both of these disasters, sandy and katrina happened at the end of the mop. so if you live paycheck to paycheck, you're waiting for the first of the month to get paid. you may not have the gas to put in your car to drive out. so what we know is the vulnerability of these issues is heightened. we want to talk about long-term preparedness to assure that our most vulnerable neighbors are the ones likely to get the first support. >> your reaction to chris christie and his reaction to the support? >> i think it's a mistake to claim that it's not political. of course it is. there is no politician ever behaving the way that doesn't have political resonance. so chris christie is being a

good leader, but he's shoring up his own political future. >> the short game and the long game. how does it all compare? >> don't forget, catch melissa's show right here on saturdays and sundays, 10:00 a.m. on msnbc. live election coverage, too. women -- or a special on women in the election, it airs this saturday at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. why women matter. and they do. if you'd like to help the victims of hurricane sandy, we'll show you how on our website. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead.

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workers not to respond to the consulates during that assault. a secret service agent killed himself after hiding an extramarital affair with a mexican woman. the 47-year-old was under investigation amid a crackdown on agent behavior. today, nasa's last space shuttle on a ten-mile journey to its retirement home at the kennedy space center. the new ipad mini, it's now on sale. prices for the 7.9 inch tablet start at $329. officials in states that have been hit hard by hurricane sandy are deciding how to hold an election next tuesday in communities where residents have been displaced. we've seen it and for so many, there is still no power. officials in new york, new jersey and connecticut have asked power companies to concentrate on bringing electricity to polling places first, but they aren't betting on that one. in new jersey officials say they are planning to deploy military trucks to be used as polling places where people can vote.

new jersey has also extended the deadline to request mail-in ballots to the end of business today. top reasons to get your vote in early. vice president joe biden has a style for this and we fill you in because it's time for the poly side bar. >> number ten, good things. >> i'm not saying each early voter gets a free cheeseburger but i'm not saying they don't either. >> see. not saying they do, not saying they don't. number six. >> if you vote early you don't have to pay taxes. i'm sorry, i'm being told that's not accurate. >> that's not accurate. >> number five. >> single and looking to mingle? find that special someone on thele early voting line. >> that's right. >> number four. >> of course there's the open bar. >> that's right. the open bar. >> number three. >> not exercising your right to

vote is malarkey. it's literally malarkey. >> okay. whatever you say. >> number two. >> early voters receive a $5 million donation from donald trump. >> wow! wow! now we're talking. and the number one good thing about voting early, ladies and gentlemen. >> honestly, don't you want this election over with already? >> yes, we do. >> four more days to gop. so montgomery burns endorses mitt romney for president. simpson style. >> who do you like better broccoli obama or meat romney? who do you want to take care of you for the next four years? >> [ inaudible ]. >> mr. burns announced his decision sitting next to binders full of women. president obama getting high profile help on the campaign

trail, jay-z joining the president in ohio. bruce springsteen will be there as well. actress eva longoria joined the president in las vegas yesterday and stevie wonder teamed up with the first lady. one of the president's supporters in colorado was not happy when someone stole his obama lawn sign. he put this up inside. see this. a romney fan stole my obama sign. do it again and you will make my day and tv news. that is it. former president john kennedy is urging voters to cast their ballots on november 6, 1962, taped this ad from the white house a few days before those midterm elections. >> there is one way you can indicate your devotion to freedom, there is one way in which we can show how strongly we believe in our democracy. next tuesday, november 6th is election day. i hope every american will turn out and vote. >> lining up tuesdnovember 6th

election day. thanks so much. have a great weekend, everybody. until then follow me on twitter @thomas a roberts. "now" with alex wagner comes your way next. jenna shared her recipe with sharon, who emailed it to emily, who sent it to cindy, who wondered why her soup wasn't quite the same. the recipe's not the recipe... ohhh. [ female announcer ] ...without swanson. the broth cooks trust most when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson.

i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios!

mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios the salesman versus the storm. it is friday, november 2nd, and this is "now." joining me today politico's chief economic correspondent, what a title, ben white. msnbc contributor ari melber of "the nation" frank bruni of "the new york times" and msnbc contributor and former dnc communications director karen finney. the election is around the corner, but millions of americans are still reeling from the devastating impact of hurricane sandy. at least 94 people have been confirmed dead and more than 3 million homes and businesses are powerless. in